Andrew Jackson

Attended an old-field school; though just a boy, participated in the battle of Hanging Rock during the Revolution, captured by the British and imprisoned; worked for a time in a saddler's shop and afterward taught school; studied law in Salisbury, North Carolina; admitted to the bar in 1787; moved to Jonesboro (now Tennessee) in 1788 and commenced practice; appointed solicitor of the western district of North Carolina, comprising what is now the State of Tennessee, in 1788; held the same position in the territorial government of Tennessee after 1791; delegate to the convention to frame a constitution for the new State 1796; upon the admission of Tennessee as a State into the Union was elected to the 4th and 5th Congresses and served from 5 Dec 1796, until his resignation in September 1797; elected as a Republican in September 1797 to the Senate for the term that had commenced 4 Mar 1797, and served from 26 Sep 1797, until his resignation in April 1798; judge of the State supreme court of Tennessee (1798-1804); engaged in planting and in mercantile pursuits; served in the Creek War of 1813 as commander of Tennessee forces; his victory in the Creek War brought him a commission as major general in the US Army in May 1814; led his army to victory over the British in the Battle of New Orleans in January 1815; received the thanks of Congress and a gold medal by resolution of 27 Feb 1815; commanded an expedition which captured Florida in 1817; served as Commissioner of the new territory (10 Mar 1821 - 13 Nov 1821); again elected to the Senate (4 Mar 1823 - 14 Oct 1825); chairman, Committee on Military Affairs (18th Congress); unsuccessful candidate for President in 1824; elected as a Democrat as President of the United States in 1828; conflicted with the second Bank of the United States; vetoed the legislation renewing the bank's charter sent to Congress on 10 Jul 1832; brandished presidential prerogative against South Carolina during the nullification crisis when this state adopted a resolution declaring high protective tariffs of 1828 and 1832 null and void; reelected in 1832; issued the Specie Circular in July 1836, requiring payment in gold or silver for all public lands; retired to his country home, the "Hermitage," near Nashville, Tennessee, where he died. [1]